Charlie Carrel emerged leader on Day 1 of 2016 EPT Prague €50,000 Super High Roller event. The British player headed to Day 2 of the high-roller tournament with 1,129,000 in chips, but still has much work to do as more than half of the participants succeeded in surviving the first day of the event.
As many as 46 players took part in the competition on Day 1. The battle took place at the Hilton Hotel in Prague and only 32 of the participating players qualified for Day 2 of the tournament. The prize-pool for the event stands at over €2.2 million.
It was hardly an easy competition for Carrel who busted halfway through the day and went on to lose almost half of his second 250,000 starting stack. However, the Brit succeeded to recover after the entry of opponent Leon Tsoukernik. Tsoukernik’s bluffs proved to be futile against Carrel, who busted his opponent and stacked up over 500,000 in chips.
After Carrel picked up some aces, his compatriot Max Silver went all-in on a completed board of queen-ten high board. Carrel responded with eights causing Silver to drop out of the game. Tsoukernik re-entered the game shortly after and took the same seat, two to the right of his adversary. The two opponents went as far as to share a €600 bottle of whiskey. Nevertheless, Carrel did not loose his focus and continued to lead the game.
The British player successfully completed a board of [6h][4s][10s][5h]Jh]
with an ace-jack. Carrel went on to call a check-raise from opponent Tsoukernik, but the latter could not beat his jacks. After a total of eight one-hour levels on Day 1, Carrel emerged leader with 1,129,000 in chips.
He is followed by opponents Julian Thomas and Patrick Leonard, who finished Day 1 at second and third place winning 700,000 and 617,000 in chips, respectively. Some of the players to get disqualified on Day 1 include Dario Sammartino, Nick Petrangelo, Jason Wheeler, and David Yan. Irishman Steve O’Dwyer, who won last year’s event, was among those who booked a ticket for Day 2 of the 2016 EPT Prague €50,000 Super High Roller tournament.
Meanwhile, Charlie Carrel’s successful completion of Day 1 enables him to attempt winning the EPT high-roller champion title for the third time. Last year, Carrel walked away with a prize exceeding €1.1 million after he finished first at the €25,000 event at the EPT Grand Final. The Brit also secured a prize of €164,500 after winning the EPT Dublin €10,200 High Roller event this past February.
